MPs Want to Force Edited "Snooper's Charter" Through ASAP

A cross-party group of MPs wants to revive the broken husk of the old so-called Snooper's Charter, with a view to getting an amended version put into the law books as part of the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill before the election this May.

The key demands this time around remain the same as before, and would let the home secretary force telecom firms to retain user data and report it to authorities if asked, keeping records for a year and making sure it's protected, not deleted, and available for more than a year if it's needed as part of a prosecution.

Lord Carlisle, one of the linchpins of this revised law, says the changes should result in watered down demands that are less offensive than previous incarnations of the Communications Data Bill, saying: "We have made a deliberate effort to remove the aspects of the draft communications bill that people found unacceptable, such as giving powers to local authorities, Revenue and Customs or water companies. The powers are confined to the police and intelligence agencies." [Guardian]